Teen Who Shot and Killed Gay Classmate Accepts Deal for 21 Years Behind Bars

Brandon McInerney, the Oxnard teenager who shot a gay classmate point blank in the back of the head has accepted a plea deal that will require him to serve 21 years in jail, reports KTLA.

McInerney, now 17, plead guilty to second-degree murder today. He was just 14 years old when he sat behind 15-year-old Larry King in a computer lab class, drew a handgun out of his backpack, and fired into King's head. According to KTLA, witnesses say that when King fell to the floor, McInerney fired another shot at him. The coroner's report concluded that King died from two gunshot wounds to the head.

A previous bout in court over this case was declared a mistrial after the jurors couldn't reach a conclusion as to McInerney's guilt. The defense claimed that McInerney was from a violent home, and should have been tried in a juvenile court. The prosecution claimed that the murder was premeditated and driven by hate, suggesting that McInerney subscribed to a set of white supremicist beliefs.

In that trial, the jury was split 7-5. If convicted of first-degree manslaughter, McInerney faced up to life in prison.

At the time of the shooting, both children had been subject to chaos and violence in their lives. King, whose adoptive father suggested after his death that Larry liked to push the boundaries until he got hurt, was living in a home for abused and neglected children. McInerney's aunt testified that Billy McInerney, Brandon's father, beat him and berated him, and that both of the boy's parents did drugs. She also suggested that McInerney may have been molested as a young child.